Tesco to halve capital spending
Supermarket giant Tesco will slash capital spending to £1bn in 2015/16.
The announcement was made in its latest trading statement to the City on Thursday.
Tesco has cancelled plans to build 49 new stores which will wipe 1.8m sq ft of new space from its pipeline of planned work.
The firm cut capital spending in the current financial year by £400 last summer to £2.1bn.
That figure will now be halved.
Chief executive Dave Lewis said: “We have some very difficult changes to make.
“I am very conscious that the consequences of these changes are significant for all stakeholders in our business but we are facing the reality of the situation.”
Continue ReadingHanson restarts brick production in Accrington
Hanson has restarted production at its Accrington plant to feed soaring demand for bricks.
David Cameron and George Osborne yesterday visited the site which was forced to close down seven years ago.
Hanson has reopened the factory following a £1.6m investment which has created 30 new jobs with 20 more set to follow this year.
Hanson has already reopened its nearby Claughton Manor plant near Lancaster and added additional shifts at its midlands factories at Kirton, Desford and Wilnecote.
The restart at Accrington will be carried out in two stages with phase one kicking off this month and phase 2, which will require further investment of around £350,000, following later in 2015.
Osborne said: “The closure of the brickworks was a painful symbol of how our economy has suffered in recent years, and its re-opening is the strongest evidence possible that Britain and the north-west are coming back, and are once again on course to prosperity.”
Stephen Harrison, Managing Director of Hanson Building Products, said: “We are anticipating further growth in new housing starts in the short to medium term and are confident that this factory has a prominent part to play in the economic recovery.”
Continue ReadingThe alternative to shock tactics in charity marketing
It was a terrible consequence of world events that the ever-present background buzz from charity advertisers was turned into a din last year. Continue ReadingJBA Comprehensive Flood Map launches on Landmark Labs
Landmark Information Group has released a sample dataset of JBA Risk Management’s latest UK Comprehensive Flood Map data. Environmental professionals, insurers, planners and developers can access the Landmark Labs portal to trial the dataset and provide comprehensive flood risk information to their clients. Posted via Industry Today. Are you into it? Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Continue Readingandpound;6 Million of Scottish Wins for ISG
ISG has added a further £6 million of projects to its recent tally of Scottish wins, which last month included £11 million of secured work in Edinburgh. The latest two schemes in St Andrews and Glasgow include the creation of a new hotel and retail outlet and an office refurbishment for Network Rail. Posted via Industry Today. Are you into it? Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Continue ReadingRay O’Rourke to test new building system on his own mansion
Ray O’Rourke is planning to pilot a new prefabricated concrete panel building system on his own multi-million pound mansion in Essex.
O’Rourke received planning after winning an appeal to knock down his existing £7m arts and craft home to replace it with a two-storey mansion with basement.
The new home in the exclusive Essex village of Fryerning will be built from large concrete panels, a system produced at the firm’s factory in Steetley.
The method is part of a programme of building research being undertaken with the University of Cambridge with the aim of providing bespoke designs that can be delivered at speed.
So far the firm has used it to build schools and offices and O’Rourke is understood to be keen to use a similar approach in the housing market for one-off designs.
A source told the Enquirer: “It is all really hush-hush at present, but plans are going ahead to start production for Ray’s new home.”
The new house will be built to mimic the arts and crafts design of the existing building on the site, and will include plain clay tiles, green oak, timber external joinery and handcrafted decorative chimney stacks.
His design also includes a basement with sauna, gym and cinema.
Laing O’Rourke’s Explore Manufacturing facility is now producing more than £40m of pre-cast products a year, just five years after opening.
The plan is to grow that to £150m within the next five years and planning consent has been sought for a further facility next to the current factory building.
Continue ReadingForboandrsquo;s Back to the Floor scheme offers true closed-loop recycling
Now in its third year, Forbo Flooring’s Back to the Floor take back scheme offers a genuine closed-loop recycling solution for Forbo flooring installation off-cuts. Rising volumes of material that go back into new products are contributing to the transition towards a Circular Economy in the flooring sector. Posted via Industry Today. Are you into it? Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Continue ReadingHousebuilder creates a buzz with new partnership
Leading housebuilder David Wilson Homes has joined forces with British skincare company Bee Good to highlight its support of, and the importance of bees. Posted via Industry Today. Are you into it? Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Continue ReadingMARKHAM VALE SUCCESS IS BOOST FOR CONTRACTORS
An unprecedented year of activity at one of the East Midlands most prominent development sites has helped to boost business for a number of contractors across the north and midlands.
After announcing speculative build activity and five major deals alone in 2014 Henry Boot Developments has appointed six different contractors to build at Markham Vale. To date it has commissioned £30 million in construction projects on the regionally significant, 200 acre business park.
Markham Vale is a flagship industrial and distribution led development undertaken by Henry Boot Developments in a joint venture with Derbyshire County Council. The site has witnessed very strong interest in the last twelve months resulting in 6 transactions, with few other comparable schemes in the UK reporting such success. Over 200,000 sq.
ft is currently under development on the site to make way for a number of new leading occupiers.
Edward Hutchinson from Henry Boot Developments said, “Markham Vale is an attractive location for a variety of occupiers which includes specialist distributors and manufacturers and supporting retail and offices requirements.
“The design and specification requirements for each plot vary greatly and it has proved successful for us to appoint contractors able to deliver against specific occupier requirements.
“Henry Boot Developments adopts a fair strategy when appointing contractors and secures in tenders through a rigorous tender process. Companies currently involved with the site include Caddick Construction, B&K Building Services, Wilgoose Construction, Henry Boot Construction, Brian Quinn Civil Engineering and Kier Construction.”
In the last year Henry Boot has secured deals with Ready Egg Products for a new 34,700 sq. ft food processing plant, Holdsworth Foods 17,900 sq. ft cold store and Euro Garages complete with Shell petrol station with HGV facilities, a SPAR convenience store, Subway, Greggs and a Starbucks drive-through. It also started work on site to deliver a new Martsons public house.
In the autumn it secured Gould Alloys for a 50,000 sq. ft design and build requirement and agreed terms with inspirepac to build a significant new 100,250 sq ft specialist production facility
Further deals are in negotiations which could see the East site at full occupation and allow Henry Boot Developments to bring forward plans for development of 80 acres on Markham Vale North. The developer is encouraging qualifying contractors to tender for future projects
Continue Reading